Young Warriors' Quest
by Splash of Blue
Summary: A vermin invasion at Salamandastron sends Martin the Warrior to ten Redwall youngsters... *Part 6 now up!* REVIEW PLEASE!!!
1. The Beginning

    'Young Warriors' Quest'- A fanfiction by Rubii Firestorm  
  
Summary: A vermin invasion at Salamandastron sends Martin the Warrior to ten Redwall youngsters with an urgent plea for help. When Rica, Danmar and their friends pit their wits against Lucar, High Lord of all Searats, their fates become inextricably linked with one other creature- Marsano, mighty Lord of Salamandastron!  
  
Close your eyes, let your mind wing out,  
Far from this Abbey dear.  
Dream of our Warrior, of hearing his shout,  
Ringing through the air so clear.  
Imagine ten young ones, wand'ring far from home,  
And a badger Lord not ready for his abode.  
Keep those eyes closed, run with me still,  
And think of those battles, the sound of the kill.  
For seasons we fought, till Mossflow'r bled,  
And covered five fields with the bodies of the dead.  
Now poppies are springing,  
From where our mates died,  
More young ones are singing,  
On through eventide.  
Eventide…
    

Excerpt from 'Ballad of Dreams', an old Redwall folk song

    Sing a song of Redwall,  
Ten youngsters brave and bold,  
Sing of Salamandastron,  
And a badger Lord so cold,  
Sing a song of battles fought, the mayhem that they bring,  
Sing a song of legends fit for any of the kings!
    

'Song of Life'- Attributed to Danmar Gonffen


	2. The Prologue

Young Warriors' Quest: The Prologue  
  
"Mama, Mama, tell us a story!"  
  
"Go on Mama, please!"  
  
Lady Rosalaun of Salamandastron lifted her two young ones, Snowstripe and Melanius, onto her lap, chuckling as she did so. "Oh, go on then, you two great frauds! This weather's so bad, there's not much else to do anyway. Call the leverets, they may as well hear it too. And tell the kitchens to send food up at dinner time, as well. This story of mine will take a while." The two young badgers were already down and on their way to the door.  
  
While they were gone, Rosalaun crossed to the window. The wind moaned and howled and blizzards raged around the great fire mountain of Salamandastron. She stared outside, remembering another night, in another blizzard, a very long time ago. Remembering…  
  
Her reverie was broken by the return, or rather the stampede, of young creatures dashing in through the door. The still young Badger Lady turned from the window and smiled at the group of just over two score of young ones, most of them Dibbuns, though there were a few a little older. She sat back down in the easy chair she had occupied before, lifting her pair of young menaces back onto her lap. Suddenly just over a score of hares, mainly the younger element, peeped round the door. A few trundled tea trolleys along with them.  
  
"I say, marm," began Captain Cheeva. "How come it's only the young 'uns who get a story? We bally well want one too!"  
  
Rosalaun snorted. At once her husband, Lord Russano, stuck his massive head around the door too.  
  
"What about me?" he asked. "I want a story too!" Rosalaun chuckled properly this time.  
  
"All right, you lot of great dibbuns, come on in!" she laughed. "Snowstripe and Melanius have asked for a story, and so I'm going to tell you one. It happened a very long time ago- or at least, that's the way it seems. And it all started with a dream…" 


	3. Rica's Dream

A/N: I'm rather pleased with this opening, although it's a bit short. Please review!  
  
Summary: A vermin invasion at Salamandastron sends Martin the Warrior to ten Redwall youngsters with an urgent plea for help. When Rica, Danmar and their friends pit their wits against Lucar, High Lord of all searats, their fates become inextricably linked with one other creature- Marsano, mighty Lord of Salamandastron!  
  
Young Warriors' Quest Part 1: Rica's Dream  
  
Roaring seas, the clash and clamour of battle, the flash and crackle of flames, and above it all, the voice of two great bells tolling the sound of freedom. Rica knew those two bells. They were called Methuselah and Matthias and they belonged to the Abbey she lived in with her twin brother, Danmar. They were distant relations of Gonff, Prince of Mousethieves, the best friend of Martin the Warrior, and so their surname was Gonffen in honour of their great ancestor. Suddenly the scene faded to one of great peace and beauty. Rica felt at peace there and, above all, safe. A hot eyed warrior mouse in armour came to her there, leading a large group of creatures. She knew instinctively who it was. Martin. The sword he carried was beautiful, glinting softly. Something told her the names of the shadowy creatures he lead- hares, mice, badgers, shrews, otters and squirels. They were Mariel, Dandin, Matthias, Joseph, Finnbarr Galedeep, Mattimeo, Rockjaw Grang, Rosie, Tarquin, Mellus, Gonff their ancestor, and so many more. Martin spoke, although the voice was one of many creatures and echoed, as though from very far away.  
  
"Mousetwins, squirrel, otter, shrew,  
  
The fiery Lord has need of you!  
  
Hedgehog, badger, moles and hare,  
  
Follow your dreams, they'll take you there!"  
  
Two mice came forwards to join their leader. Instinct told her their names. One was a warrior maid bearing a thick knotted rope. That was Mariel, and the other was another warrior, male this time, Dandin- another ancestor of Rica and Danmar. The mousemaid and her partner spoke, and again their voices echoed like birdsong on a misty morning.  
  
"Remember us, Rica! Follow your own star,  
  
Remember us, Rica! We'll be with you, in your heart."  
  
They faded away, and their image was replaced by one of barbaric splendour. A rat, with only one ear and half his tail missing. A rat with a gold circlet on his head and red eyes. A rat with golden armour, decked well with weapons and wearing a grim smile. At last he, too, faded away, and she saw Martin, Mariel and Dandin once more. They were chanting the same verse over and over again.  
  
"You alone shall bear my sword,  
  
In service of the badger Lord,  
  
Use it wisely, use it well,  
  
'Till Lucarass is nought but a shell!"  
  
The feeling she had felt before, of great peace and security, came over Rica once more as she slipped back into untroubled slumber. Unknown to her, nine other young Redwallers, both in her dormitory and the one close by, had had almost the same dream. 


	4. A Badger Lord For Salamandastron 1: Sieg...

A/N: Hi guys, thanks for all your reviews and apologies for my odd uploading pattern. In true Brian Jacques fashion, I'm writing two stories happening at the same time and eventually coming together. Unfortunately I've had massive writer's block on the Salamandastron part, while my writing for the Redwall part was steaming along. Now we have a role reversal- I've got writer's block on part 5 of the Redwall stuff. Please bear with me, and apologies again. Bye! Bethan a.k.a Rubii Firestorm.  
  
  
Young Warriors' Quest: A Badger Lord for Salamandastron  
  
Part 1: Stalemate on Salamandastron  
The hares of the great fire mountain that was called by many 'Salamandastron' were weary. Weary of the night patrols and constant guard watches, weary of never being allowed to leave their fortress mountain of a home, but most of all they were weary of fighting. The Temporary Mountain Commander, Colonel Eyebright, was most fed up. Nobeast, least of all the young leverets, dared disturb the Officers' Mess when Eyebright was there- he had aged several seasons in a surprisingly short time and the stress and strain he was under had certainly not improved his temper, though he looked as dapper as always. Only the young Garrison Captain, Cheeva, could manage him, and even she came in for a tongue-lashing now and then.  
Could it possibly be only two seasons since they had first come under siege? It seemed impossible, and yet it was true. Only a few days after Lady Cregga Rose Eyes had marched off with five hundred fighting hares, Lucar Mordeyes had made herself known to the remaining five hundred warrior beasts left behind. Five or so seasons ago, just after the defeat of the Rapscallion army, the massive black rat had set up a kingdom on a small island off shore, a little north of Salamandastron, called it Lucarass and set herself up as tyrant, believing that the Salamandastron forces would be tired after their long battle and unwilling to enter into another full-scale war. She had been right. Besides, Lady Cregga had been totally focused on the remaining Rapscallions and was therefore not interested in somebeast whom she believed to be a small time schemer who wouldn't be around for very long anyway. But now, with half the great fire mountain's fighting force gone, Lucar had moved in on Salamandastron, brought in double her original force from somewhere else unknown to the hares and started the siege on their mountain.

~*~

Lucar Mordeyes was a gigantic female black rat, about double the size of any of her counterparts. She always wore the gold armour that had been part of her greatest ever haul, being a former searat. Her only forms of jewellery were several gold hoops and ruby and emerald studs that hung from her ears, plus a single golden spiked bracelet, while her weapon of choice was a bluesteel scimitar, with its base decorated by bluejohns. This she wielded with breathtaking skill, earning herself the fearsome reputation as the greatest terror on land or afloat. Some said she came from the far south, some declared positively that she was from the east, while others would have staked their life on her hailing from the very far north. She stalked between the ranks of her army of seven or eight hundred pure white ermine, foxes and weasels, all of whom she had outfought at one time or another, teaching them all personally. The result was an elite fighting force that had on occasion even gotten the better of badger Lords. Lucar's horde, the WhiteDeath, were no ragged band of ragtag vermin, but a perfectly disciplined, well trained army of snow-white creatures, with their base on an island just offshore from Salamandastron which Lucar had named Lucarass. Nobeast knew why she had chosen to have only albino beasts in her army- perhaps it was that they were so different in appearance from their jet-furred leader, or maybe it was so that they were easy to identify from a distance, preventing patrols from accidentally fighting one another in night time, and also making recognition and trapping of runaways easy. Not that many of the beasts under Lucar's control ran away- the pickings were good and so their Master could afford to be generous when she split their spoils. Unlike many horde leaders, Lucar was also very **_un_**superstitious: on the rare occasions she paid any heed to her blind, albino vixen seer it was more out of curiosity to see if her visions came true, or to guard all corners against attack, than an actual wish to know what the future held. The only real reason the seer, Sareeneye by name, was there at all was because the hordebeasts, like many vermin, were superstitious and it helped Lucar's control if she apparently had Fate on her side. Now Lucar sat next to the fire, opposite her seer, watching her captains, the WhiteWatch, as they ate, drank and jostled one another, her strange pale green eyes flickering in the firelight.  
"We move in on the fire mountain tomorrow, Sareeneye," she said, her perfect speech in direct contrast to the rough, ungrammatical accents of her hoard. "Tell them now, and fit in a little mysticism along the way, would you? Something about great treasure, and me seeing all and knowing all that is in their minds. I like the sound of that."  
Sareeneye merely nodded; she and Lucar rarely conversed. Lucar always did all the talking. Scorning pawholds, for the fox disliked allowing the horde to see her blindness and therefore allowing them to take advantage of it, Sareeneye slipped along by the captains' fire, using her perfect hearing and acute sense of smell to guide her. Blind beasts often make up for their lack of sight by a heightened sense of their other senses, but Sareeneye was still exceptional in that field. She was young, too, an age unusual for a seer. When the heat of the flames told her she had got close enough, she stopped, skilfully blending in with the background, for Sareeneye was said to be a descendant of a Marlfox, the magic foxes themselves. She tossed a pawful of strange glittering herbs onto the fire, letting out an unearthly howl and leaping straight over the embers as the flames leapt high and turned red and purple.  
"White is black, and black is white,  
Swirling colours of the night.  
WhiteDeath sends, to Dark Forest, foes,  
Some die quick but most die slow. Owwoooh!"  
Recognizing the vixen's eerie chant, every vermin there leapt upwards as one beast, screaming and shouting the same chant.  
Eventually the vixen gestured with her paws for silence. When she had it, she finally spoke.  
"We move in on the fire mountain tomorrow!" she said. "I have spoken with a wise old owl, who assured me that Salamandastron's forces are weary from their fight with the Rapscallions, and will not be up to a fight. There is great treasure in that fortress- treasure greater than any of you could ever dream of. But remember, your great Mistress sees and knows all that you think or do; you will pay for any treachery, however small, with your lives. But tell me, brave ones, what are you called?"  
There was not a single vermin who dared not to screech out the answer.  
"WhiiiiiteDeeeeath!"


	5. Discussion on the Steps

Thanks muchly to Rosabel and WritingChick1321 for reviewing!  
  
Young Warriors' Quest  
  
A/N: Just a note: this is set at the end of The Long Patrol, before Russano has grown up. How the heck there is a Badger Lord for them to help if Russano's still young and Cregga's at Redwall will be explained later. And yes, if you've been wondering, I DID name Danmar after a combination of Mariel and Dandin, since he's related to Dandin, anyway. And Mariel's one of my favourite characters! She ROCKS, people. Apologies for my attempts to write molespeech. Oh yes, and Elmjac is a predecessor of Janglur and Song Swifteye- a grandsire or great grandsire, I think.  
  
Part 2- Discussion on the Steps  
  
It was midday; and ten young Redwallers sat on the steps outside Great Hall. They were talking about the dreams they had all had last night- dreams that were oddly similar.  
  
"Mousetwins, Martin said, didn't he?" asked Sarra, a badgermaid who had been found alone by Arven the Abbey Warrior on a wander several seasons ago. She was being brought up to become Badgermum after Cregga, and she did not like the idea one tiny little bit. For the same reason she hated the second name she had been given: Dreameyes, for Sarra was the archetypal tomboy and hated anything too soft or girly. Everyone nodded. "Well, that could only mean you and Danmar, Rica- you're the only mousetwins in this Abbey!"  
  
"So it looks like we're in on whatever Martin wants us to do, then," said Danmar.  
  
"Presoisely," said Brulla Diggbowl. She tapped the parchment they had written all the riddles Martin had said down on with a heavy digging claw. "An' this bit 'bout ee molers, this'n's us'n's, that be for shore!" She indicated the other mole is their party, a strapping mole named Burrdigg Diggum, who also happened to be her cousin.  
  
"It's got to be, Brulla," agreed Elmjac, a young squirrel who was a dead shot with a bow and arrow. "The thing that puzzles me is the bit that he said to Rica, about 'You alone shall bear my sword,  
  
In service of the badger Lord'. Surely Martin's chosen warrior has always been a malebeast? And besides, there's always only one Abbey Warrior Warrior at a time. Arven's still alive and kicking!"  
  
"Aye, I'm puzzled an' all, mate!" said Seapryde, a young ottermaid. "What we'll have to do, see, is put the thing to Arven, Cregga, Abbess Tansy an' the rest. Mebbe they'll know what to do about it!"  
  
Garllo Spearback, a hedgehog maid, disagreed. "Shorely they'll stop us from going?" she said. "I mean, we're on'y young, like- Sarra's the oldest amongst us, an' she's only had sixteen seasons. An' you know what they'll think about us goin' off an' fighting battles and the like!"  
  
"What, go gallivating off on the say-so of a dream that you say you've had? I've never heard the like!" mimicked Marsa, a shrewmaid who was a first- class mimic. Her party of Guosim had arrived at the Abbey last week, and she had lost no time in chumming up with the other nine, who were roughly her age. "I 'spect Sister Viola'll faint right out at the thought!" The others chuckled.  
  
"Well, we'll jolly well have to risk it, won't we!" Morio de Fformello Tussock, Tammo and Pasque Valerian's only son, added his piece. "I mean, they can't keep us trapped in here the whole bally time, can they? If we put this whole thing to 'em and they agree, then all the better for us. But if they flippin' well say no, then we'll have to run for it, wot wot!"  
  
Rica thought hard. "Log a Log might be on our side, and your mama and papa, Morio- I mean, your dad said he ran off and joined the Long Patrol when he was our age, and it's done him no harm, has it? But it'll be difficult, running away from the Abbey, if we have to. Not to get out, I mean- that's no problem. But it'll be hard to filch all the supplies we'll need and, besides, although Morio's dead certain it's Salamandastron we're bound for, none of us have ever been there. How'll we know the way?"  
  
"Martin'll show us the way, that won't be any problem," said Danmar confidently. "But Arven's not going to like releasing his precious sword to a fifteen season old mouse- and a girl at that! I think Martin's got that bit wrong, Rica- it must be me he meant!"  
  
Sarra was doubtful. "Martin's not known for getting things wrong, Danmar. Does it really matter whether a warrior's male or female, anyway? I mean, look at Cregga Badgermum- she was the ruler of Salamandastron not so very long ago, and a mighty warrior too!"  
  
Danmar disliked creatures disagreeing with him. He huffed, and Morio spoke to him. "Don't start huffin' and puffin' old lad, it doesn't do a bit of bally good, does it?" he said sharply. "That isn't going to jolly well help matters, some of us disagreeing on what the old boy Martin meant. We've got to present a united bally front to all the elders if we want to have any chance of getting them to believe us!"  
  
Elmjac agreed with him. "Aye, lissen to the hare and get some sense in your thick skull, Danmar! Martin meant Rica, not you, and that's all t'be said about it!" Danmar thought of sulking, but decided that the other two were right, for the moment anyway. He would save that particular argument for later.  
  
~*~  
  
That night at dinner, Sarra spoke to Abbess Tansy. "Erm, could you arrange an elders meeting after supper, please? Me and my- that is, my friends and I have something important to tell you all. It's about Martin."  
  
The young badgermaid looked so solemn and serious that Tansy agreed to her request, announcing it before she said grace for their meal that night.  
  
That night, in the little chamber off Great Hall known as Council Hole, where the Abbey elders' meeting always took place, Sarra, Morio, Rica, Danmar, Elmjac, Marsa, Garllo, Brulla, Burrdigg and Seapryde faced a group made up of Skipper of otters, Major Perigord Habile Sinistra and his Long Patrol platoon, Log a log of the Guosim, Foremole Diggum, Gurgan Spearback of the Waterhogs, Abbess Tansy, Shad the Gatekeeper, Craklyn the old recorder, Viola Bankvole, Friar Butty of the kitchens and several other Abbey elders.  
  
Sarra and Rica, who were the most used to public speaking, explained the dream that the ten of them had had the previous night. The youngsters waited with baited breath for their announcement which, from Sister Viola at least, was precisely as expected.  
  
"What, go gallivating off on the say-so of a dream that you say you've had?" she burst out immediately. "I've never heard the like!" Seapryde elbowed Marsa and giggled, but both were silenced by a stern look from Morio. Abbess Tansy, though not as outspoken, followed suit in her reply.  
  
"I'm afraid that you simply cannot go," she said quietly. "You're far too young to go off fighting battles, and besides, this is only one dream. We all know that our Abbey youngsters live, sleep, eat and dream Martin the Warrior. Is it not possible that this could be simply wishful thinking?" Rica bit her lip in disappointment.  
  
Cregga disagreed. "I don't think so, Tansy," she said, rocking young Russano on her lap. He was by now about six seasons old and went everywhere with the blind Badgermum. "Martin the Warrior is well known for coming to his chosen successors in dreams, and surely ten youngsters having the same dream is too much of a coincidence."  
  
Tammo and his pretty wife, Pasque Valerian, backed the sightless badger up. "I ran away and joined the jolly old Long Patrol before I was fifteen seasons old, and it hasn't done me any bally harm," he argued. "Didn't Martin come to me once before? And that time it gave us the idea that helped to save this Abbey. I think they should be allowed to go, Abbess- with a guide of course, wot wot."  
  
But Abbess Tansy remained firm. "I am afraid they are simply too young to leave this Abbey. That is my final word on the subject. Goodnight all!"  
  
The pretty hedgehog Abbess took her leave, which the others took as the signal to break up the meeting. As Morio left, Pasque Valerian whispered in her young son's ear.  
  
"Come back here at midnight," she hissed. "We'll help you and your friends get out of here, don't worry. Tell the rest now!"  
  
Morio squeezed past her back into the room, where he hissed her message to the others. Sarra looked startled, but nodded to Pasque and Tammo, indicating that their message was well understood. Then they all left to go to their dormitories. 


	6. Two Warrior's Dreams

Hey again, devoted minions of Redwall… thanks muchly to redwall-squirrel for reviewing all, yes ALL of my Redwall fics. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! Ok, now onto the fic!  
  
Young Warriors' Quest Part 3: Two Warriors' Dreams  
  
Arven the Abbey Warrior had also been summoned by Cregga Rose Eyes, Tammo and Pasque Valerian to their secret conference that night. He sat up in bed, thinking over the pros and cons of allowing Rica Gonffen, a fifteen season old mousemaid, to leave the Abbey with Martin's sword, the sword that he, Arven of Redwall, had been chosen to own from birth. To her side, Rica was Gonff's relative, and also the relative of a previous Abbey warrior, Dandin. Arven also knew her to be a loyal friend, a good leader and a determined fighter. He had taught her a little sword fighting and found her to be a remarkably quick learner. But still, she was so young, and then she was female… although he knew or had heard of several truly perilous female leaders- Mariel Gullwhacker, Captain Twayblade, Pasque Valerian, Lady Cregga Rose Eyes, Lady Amber the SquirrelQueen, Grath Longfletch, Hon Rosie Woodsorrel, and others- it was a recognised fact that not one of Martin's chosen Abbey Warriors had ever been female. Why should Martin suddenly change his ways? And besides, there had also only ever been one Abbey Warrior at any one time. What was so different now, even though, he, Arven, had come to his middle seasons? He dropped off to sleep with the question still echoing in his mind.  
  
The great bells of Redwall tolled through his mind, he heard the clamour of battles fought and battles yet to come echoing through the corners of his mind. He heard the greatest war cries of them all: Eulaliaaa! Redwaaall! Logalogalogalooog! Regubaaaaa! Fur and Freeedoooom! Mossflowerrrrrr! All these and more echoed through his mind as though from very far away. Martin the Warrior came to him then. He was repeating a verse over and over again, though his mouth did not move.  
  
"Do not hinder Rica,  
  
Help her in the quest.  
  
Teach her how to use my sword,  
  
And how to lead the rest."  
  
Arven awoke with a start just as the Abbey bells softly chimed the midnight hour.  
  
~*~  
  
In the dormitory upstairs, Danmar too was dreaming of the great Abbey warrior. Martin came to him through the mists. The legendary Warrior smiled at him for a moment, leaning on his perilous blade. Then Martin the Warrior disappeared. Out of the mists of time came a female mouse warrior swinging a knotted rope. The hard rope knotted rope end spun like a windmill as she swung it in the face of a vermin horde who tripped and stumbled over the bodies of their fallen comrades as they tried to get at her. A wild war cry ripped from the throat of the fiery eyed warrior maid. "Redwaaaaall!"  
  
Teeth flew, heads cracked and limbs splintered as the lone mousemaid took a stand against the vermin army. Danmar knew at once that she was a true Warrior, like Martin. Suddenly the hordes of foebeasts disappeared. Mariel the Gullwhacker of Redwall winked at him. She strode forwards as the rope she carried hummed and whirred like a live thing and winked once more. Danmar knew that she had a message for him. Her strong voice floated towards him for the first time as she called her verse, repeating it twice.  
  
"Maids can be warriors too,  
  
Not all must be males like you.  
  
Support your friends, young ones defend,  
  
And come back to Redwall in the end."  
  
Danmar awoke with a jerk as she faded away from him to the sound of the Abbey bells ringing. 


	7. Flight From The Abbey

Young Warriors' Quest 4: Flight from the Abbey  
  
All ten of the young Abbey dwellers summoned to the midnight meeting awoke with a start as the Abbey bells softly chimed 12 o'clock. Arven woke too, remembering the dream he had just had. He was pretty sure he had decided what to do. Log a log and Gurgan Spearback had napped. Tammo de Fformello Tussock had stayed awake, and so had his pretty wife Pasque Valerian, but Cregga Badgermum had dropped off with little Russano soundly asleep in her arms, clutching as always on to Russa Nodrey's old hardwood stick. But one other was awake… The small figure slipped quietly downstairs towards the kitchens, but then faded away into the gloom in the passageway and was lost to sight in the shadows.  
  
Rica rose quietly from her bed, seeing the shadowy forms of Sarra, Seapryde, Marsa, Garllo and Brulla, as she stood upright. Wordlessly the girls left their dorm, joining up with Danmar, Elmjac, Burrdigg and Morio as they reached the stairwell. When they reached Cavern Hole, it was lit and there were several creatures already there. Cregga Badgermum stood by the door cradling Russano, a vast, welcoming presence. Tammo and Pasque stood together with the rest of their Long Patrol battalion near a vast oak chest, talking quietly with Arven, Foremole, Skipper, Gurgan Spearback and Log a log. When all had entered the room, Cregga spoke.  
  
"I have called you here tonight because, as you know, Martin the Warrior called these ten young ones to go to Salamandastron and help the Badger Lord there, but they were refused permission to leave by Abbess Tansy. I did not know there was a Badger Lord at Salamandastron, but if Martin has spoken, then you must go. We here have promised to arm you and give you any help you may need, including a guide to the edge of Mossflower Woods and instructions for the rest of the way. Gurgan!"  
  
The massive hedgehog stumped forwards in his oversized boots and opened the enormous oak chest. He took out a dangerous-looking tree trunk headed war mallet.  
  
"My ole war mallet," he said gruffly. "'Tis thine now, Garllo. Use it well to defend thy friends, daughter. Make me proud to be thy father, an' find thy way back to this Abbey someday!"  
  
He handed it to the hedgehog maid and chuckled as she handled the enormous mallet with apparent ease, carrying it over her shoulder. The hedgehog stepped back from the chest, relinquishing his place to Tammo and Pasque. Tammo felt around inside for some time before withdrawing a blade that was half the length of a sword but double that of a dagger. It glowed with a dim bluish sheen in the candlelight and he fastened it to his son, Morio, sash fashion, by the aid of a twine and linen belt with a sliver buckle shaped as a running hare. Tammo tapped it lovingly. "This was my mother's weapon; she gave it to me when I ran off to join the Long Patrol. ''Tis called a dirk, made in the forge of Salamandastron whence you are bound, and no weapon ever served me better. Throw it, slash with it, it can do anything you wish."  
  
Morio's mother Pasque was next to speak. "Your father and I named you after our friends, heroes who died at the Ridge of a Thousand and in the Great Rapscallion War. Never let anybeast take your weapon from you, and make us proud of our name and the names we gave you, Morio Furgale Reeve Starbuck Russa Perigord Rockjaw Stormeye Valerian de Fformello Tussock!"  
  
"What an unholy mouthful," muttered Cregga, bending low over the chest. She drew out a massive axepike, it's head tipped with a double-bladed spearpoint and the handle a thick piece of dark hardwood as tall as the badgermum herself. She cradled it fondly before giving it to Sarra. "Sarra Dreameyes, you have been chosen to go with your friends to Salamandastron, the fiery mountain of the Badger Lords, where I used to rule as Lady Cregga Rose Eyes. I give you my old weapon as yours- I gave up my old life when I became blind at the Ridge of a Thousand. Use it well!" Sarra nodded dumbly as she took the weapon. It was glinting dangerously in the firelight, and she handled it well.  
  
Log a log did not move, but he looked straight at Marsa, the shrewmaid who had come to Redwall with the rest of her group of Guosim. "Marsa Streamchild, you already have your weapon- that traditional to the Guosim, the rapier. I know that you can use it well- I have trained you in its use. Use it only to defend you, your friends and the defenceless!"  
  
Like Sarra, Marsa nodded wordlessly, her mind filled with what she was about to attempt. Next, Major Perigord Habile Sinistra came forward, though he did not burrow through the old chest in front of him. Instead he withdrew one of his two long shining fencing sabres from its scabbard at his waist. He presented it to Danmar hilt first.  
  
"Danmar Gonffen," he said. "I give one of my weapons to you- no weapon has ever served me better, and 'twas made in the fires of Salamandastron when I joined the Long Patrol. I won't make any long speeches-"  
  
"You dreadful great fibber, you've never made a short one in your life, wot!" murmured the Major's sister, Captain Twayblade.  
  
"- as I was saying before I was, ahem, interrupted," Perigord glared fiercely at his sister, "I won't make any speeches, but use your weapon well, wot wot!"  
  
Skipper of otters went next. "Seapryde Brookback, me liddle matey," he began. "Your family helped a Badger Lord once before, long before Redwall was ever built. That Lord was named Old Lord Brocktree, an' I'm told by a friend of mine that Marsano, the Lord who rules there now, is a direc' desken…, I mean, deden…, oh, he's a relative o' yourn, awright! Enny'ow, this badger lord, 'e made a spear for 'im in the forge of the fire mountain- a double pointed javelin, it was. Some'ow, I don' quite know 'ow, us otters found it, and yer, well, yer to 'ave it, mate!" Seapryde took the javelin Skipper gave to her with a gruff "Thanks, Skip!"  
  
After him came Foremole Diggum. He presented Brulla and Burrdigg with a sling and a red embroidered pebble pouch filled with stones apiece.  
  
"Ee be molechoilds of Red' all, an oi be's givvin' these to ee as thoi weapons. Use ee well, liddle molers!"  
  
Arven went last. "Elmjac Swifteye," he began. "Long ago, when Redwall was in danger from searats, three brave hares of the Long Patrol made several longbows to use in this Abbey's defence. Later, two of them died to free the searats' oarslaves, but the weapons they made remained in Redwall. Here is one of them and the quiver of arrows that accompanied it. Use 'em well!"  
  
Finally the Abbey Warrior turned to Rica. "I confess, Rica, that I was not sure whether or not to allow ye to leave Redwall with the Sword. However, Martin the Warrior came to me tonight, and this is what he told me.  
  
'Do not hinder Rica,  
  
Help her in the quest.  
  
Teach her how to use my sword,  
  
And help to lead the rest.'  
  
"Well, after that I couldn't very well refuse, could I? Anyways, Rica Gonffen, here is RatDeath, the Sword of Martin the Warrior. You are to be Champion of Redwall Abbey!"  
  
Despite the necessary order of "Quiet!" from Cregga Badgermum, everybeast broke out in muted applause as Rica, blushing red from ears to tail, took the sword from Arven. Cregga was just about to speak again when her exceptionally sharp ears caught a sound outside the door.  
  
Thump! "Ooooh, my ankle!"  
  
"Come in here, young Butty!" commanded Cregga sternly. Arven stifled a chuckle as the chubby young squirrel friar entered the room backwards, tugging a dozen backpacks well stuffed with food of all kinds. Friar Butty finally looked up from his task to report to Cregga Badgermum.  
  
"Um, I heard as how you were going to help Rica and her friends escape, Cregga marm," he began nervously, "and you can't let our warriors go hungry, can you? I brought food for two escorts as well!"  
  
"Well done, young Butty," said the Major, eyeing the packs chock full of good Redwall food longingly. "Well, looks like we'd best be off- m' goodself an' my Long Patrol Platoon'll be your guides, wot wot!"  
  
Butty looked crestfallen. "But sir," he said. "I only packed food for twelve. Besides the ten young 'uns that're goin', where'll that leave you?"  
  
"No need t' worry, young feller m'lad!" said Torgoch calmly. "The kids can take the two extra backpacks as emergency rations an' the rest of us can live off the fat of the jolly ol' land, wot wot?"  
  
A sound from above, where Abbess Tansy's bedroom was, made them all start.  
  
"Quick!" hissed Arven. "Go now, all of you, we'll make your excuses!"  
  
"Right, old boy, good luck!" said Twayblade. There was just time for them all to sling the packs over their shoulders before Cregga was ushering them out the door. The old blind badgermum escorted the ten young ones and the Long Patrol battalion to a side gate from the Abbey. All ten youngsters sprinted forwards, dashing away from the only home any of them had ever known into the unknown and silent night. 


	8. The Runaways 1: The Princesses

Young Warriors' Quest: The Runaways  
  
Part 1: The Princesses Skyrun stood on the windowsill, leaning out from Castle Floret with a squirrel's sure balance, peering out to the north. Suddenly a prissy- looking mouse entered the room, chattering to herself discontentedly. "Always it's do this, do that, with never a moment to rest! I'm getting nasty rough paws from doing all that washing, I am, but do those princesses care? They do get into trouble every other day, they do, and forever tearing their dresses, they are!" Suddenly she noticed the aquablue smocked squirrel princess at the window and squeaked in a bizarre mixture of fright and anger. "Do you get down from there at once, young squirrel, before you do fall!" Reluctantly Skyrun leapt lightly down and stood in front of the irate nursemaid as Sohreeni lectured. "And never a care for my job, you haven't, young miss squirrel! What if you were to go a-falling, eh, and you a princess too!" Skyrun looked sulky. "That's all it is, day an' night, it's princess this and princess that! Well, I don't want to be a stupid princess any longer, and nor do 'Chase and 'Leap! We just want to be warriors like Amber!" Lady Amber, the SquirrelQueen, was a distant ancestor of Southsward's Royal Family. Tales of her bravery and daring were often told to the castle's inhabitants on the long winter nights and the three young princesses had eagerly drunk them all in- how she had run away from Southsward as a young creature, discontented with her position as princess, and founded her own colony of squirrels who banded together with a crew of otters to save the far off woodlands named Mossflower from an evil wildcat queen, how she had fearlessly defied the wildcat right from the very start, and how Amber and her squirrels were the greatest archers in all of Mossflower. She was their idol, but being a princess did not allow much leeway for promising young warriors. It had been a struggle even to persuade their father, King Sundance, to allow them to be trained as archers. The three had taken to it like ducks to water, but even so they were not allowed to cross the drawbridge and so leave the castle walls without several otter escorts. Naturally the young squirrel triplets rebelled at this- they were forever thinking up new ways of leaving the castle, becoming slyer at their task as time passed and they grew up. Now the terrible trio were nearly fifteen seasons old and even more impatient to leave the castle than ever. Their three great friends were the hare siblings, a young male named Moonfleet and two maids named Sunspeed and Starswift. Of these three, Moonfleet was the eldest, followed by Sunspeed, then their youngest sister, Starswift. The princesses' other great friend was a young, female otter named Tohree. Their friendship was frowned upon by the SquirrelKing and Queen as being 'not suitable'- in other words, as the triplets were quick to find out, the three hares and otter were simply not of a good enough class. This, of course, made Skyrun, Skychase and Skyleap (to give them their full names, which they hated) even more determined to continue with their friendship. With absolutely no warning Skyrun dashed over to the window and hurled herself out of it. Sohreeni squeaked in fright, then saw the rapidly falling princess grab hold of a dangling twine rope and swing herself up to the very tallest tower to join Skychase and Skyleap. As Sohreeni heaved a sigh of relief, her head and shoulders sticking well out of the window, the bucket full of dirty pond water that Skychase was holding abruptly turned upside down and emptied, catching the nursemaid unawares. She was absolutely drenched. As the three princesses swung off well out of scolding range, their giggling could be heard. Mingled with the sound was the barking of an otter and the chuckling of three young hares. Part 2: A Whole New Dream As the three young squirrels tossed and turned in their beds that night, in each of their minds they saw clouds, mists, parting to reveal two creatures- a red squirrel with one ear missing and a tall young mouse with the warrior's look in his eye. Something told the three princesses their names: Martin the Warrior and Lady Amber. They halted about ten paces from the still swirling mists of blue and grey from whence they had emerged, with Amber just in front of Martin.  
  
  
  
Moonfleet Sunspeed Starswift Cometquick Meteodash  
  
Universrun Starleap  
  
Tohree Skyrun Skychase Skyleap  
  
band_camp_boy@msn.com  
  
Seven Fugitives  
  
It's a whole new world And a whole new start It's come alive with the beating Of so many young hearts.  
  
Yes, it's a whole new world It's a whole new dream But in this new world Things aren't always what they seem  
  
But trust in us, Let us be your guides In your dreams we'll stay Always at your side. 


End file.
